Ben Long:  American Dragon
by RedHal
Summary: Sequel to 'Coming Back'.  This is the story of when Ben Long gets his powers and begins his training
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own American Dragon: Jake Long. I do own Ben, Julie, Seth, Chad, Renee and any characters you don't recognized such as Mark and Ron.

Summary: The long awaited sequel to 'Coming Back.' 13 years after the end of 'Coming Back' Ben, after 13 years of not showing any signs of dragon powers after that fire belch, finally gets all of his dragon powers.

_**Ben Long: American Dragon**_

**Prologue**

"Hey Mom" the Asian-looking boy of almost 13 said as he came down the stairs with a familiar skateboard in one hand, a surfboard in the other and a helmet on his head as the school was closed due to a mold issue. "I'm going to meet up with the guys and we're going to the harbor."

"Just be careful" Rose Long said as she looked up from grading the papers.

"I will. Love you!" Ben called as he ran out the door

Rose just smiled and shook her head.

"Like father like son" Ben heard his mother whisper

"I wonder what she meant" Ben asked himself after closing the door

"What who meant?" a male voice said

Ben turned and smiled at one of his best friends, Mark Stevenson.

"Mom just said 'Like father, like son'" Ben explained.

"How can you NOT know what that meant?" Mark asked

"Hello! Remember? Dad's away on a year-long business trip." Ben reminded his friend.

"Maybe that's what she meant" Mark suggested "You two tend to go off and do your own thing"

"Maybe" Ben said as he sat on the steps. "Ever since Mom took over Dad's job as the Mythology teacher at school, it seems I see less and less of my Dad. I hope nothing's wrong between them"

Five years ago, five years after the birth of the second Long child, Rose had gone into teaching to allow her husband to focus on his duties as the American Dragon. Of course, since Ben and his sister Juliet (Julie for short), hadn't shown any signs of dragon powers since their births, Jake and Rose had decided to keep it quiet like Jake's mom had done just in case something had happened to cause the powers to skip the generation.

"Where's Ron?" Ben asked checking his watch.

"Beats me. We said we'd meet at ten, right?"

"Right" Ben said seeing it was five after.

Suddenly, someone came skating up to the two on roller blades. Due to the loose clothes and hidden hair, it was hard to tell if this person was a boy or a girl

"Where have you been Ron?" Ben asked

"Sorry Ben" Ron said, voice indicating that the speaker was female. "Mom was being a pain with the usual lecture. 'Don't talk to strangers, don't get too close to the boats.' The usual."

Ben and Ron loaded their surf boards onto Mark's bike and headed for the beach

0000

A few minutes later,

When the trio got there, They took off their helmets and hid their transportation vehicles in a tree. Ron took off her helmet and allowed her page-boy red hair to fall out. Then they grabbed their boards and went into the ocean to wait for a ferry or some other type of boat to create some waves to ride.

"So Ben?" Ron asked. "Think your Dad's going to make it for the big 1-3 tomorrow?"

"Who knows?" Ben answered. "Dad's job now is pretty spontaneous. Though he did say that if all goes as planned, after I turn 13, maybe I could tag along."

"That would be so cool" Mark said. "Didn't one time your Dad go to Hawaii?"

"Yeah." Ben confirmed. "4 years ago. That's when he got me this surfboard for Christmas"

"Hard to imagine your dad once did what your mom's doing" Ron said. "I wonder what he does now"

"Don't know. He and Mom are pretty quiet about it"

"Maybe he's a secret agent who works for the government" Mark suggested


	2. The Weirdest Birthday Present Ever

A/N: Thank you to those of you who did the poll for Ben's color. I'll have the overall results on my profile.

**Chapter 1: The Weirdest Birthday Present Ever**

The next morning,

Ben woke up feeling a bit sore. Suddenly his eyes shot open. It was his 13th birthday.

He pulled the covers off figuring that his father would be home today because SURELY he wouldn't miss his only son's big day.

However Ben instantly noticed that something was wrong. His usually dark skin was now covered with red scales.

"What the heck?" Ben asked going to the mirror in his room.

There, facing him in the mirror, was a dragon.

"!" Ben shouted

Suddenly, he heard footsteps come running up the stairs. Not wanting his mother and little sister to see him like this, he closed the door and locked it.

"Ben? Everything okay?" Rose's voice came after the doorknob jiggled

"NO!" Ben exclaimed "When I was told that turning into a teenager meant big changes, this WASN'T what I had in mind!"

"C'mon Ben." The ten-year old voice of Julie Long came. "it can't be that bad"

"I've only just been turned into a mythological creature" Ben muttered under his breath

"Ben. Your sister is right. Nothing can be this bad" Rose said

"I beg to differ Mom" Ben said.

"I have seen things FAR beyond your comprehension. I think I can handle this" Rose said

"No Mom!" Ben said "You can't! I…I'm a freak"

"Benjamin Jacob Long! You are NOT a freak!" Rose lectured "Now, I'm going to come in whether you like it or not. Julie. Go to your room"

"But…"

"This is something Mommy and Ben need to talk alone about" Rose said

Ben grabbed his desk chair and placed it in front of the door. But deciding to take precaution, he went out onto the fire escape and tried out his new wings and flew off taking great care not to be seen.

0000

After a few minutes, Ben landed in Central Park and hid under a bridge.

"Oh man. Some birthday" he groaned as he slid to the ground.

"Well, well. What do we have here?"

Ben looked up and gasped

There, surrounding him, was a gang of troll. Ben backed up against the wall unable to comprehend what was happening.

He was in a dragon body surrounded by a gang of tough looking trolls.

"Look. I don't want to fight you" Ben said

"Sure you don't" one of the trolls said sarcastically as he banged his club into his hand.

"This has got to be a nightmare" Ben muttered to himself

"Excuse us" a familiar voice to Ben came

The trolls and the dragon boy turned and saw a group of people. Ben INSTANTLY recognized his godparents. There was also a man dressed in a Huntsclan uniform (though Ben had no idea what the uniform was), and a pink dragon

Ben's godfather, Arthur Spudinski, aka Spud, had spoken.

"You must not know who you're dealing with" Ben's godmother, Dr. Trixy Wilkins, said in her tough act

"Step away from the dragon and nobody gets hurt" the man in the uniform threatened. Ben could have sworn it sounded like his Uncle Seth.

"And what if we don't?" the head troll challenged "A bunch of humans and a girl dragon are going to fight"

"No" the pink dragon, that sounded like Ben's Aunt Haley, said as she smirked and pulled out a cell phone. She hit a speeddial button. "Hello Big Brother?….a bunch of trolls are in central park messing with a new dragon who's birthday happens to be today"

She hung up and then shot a fireball into the air

"Now," the dragon continued. "If you don't want to deal with the American Dragon, I'd suggest you leave"

Most of the trolls looked downright scared causing Ben to get a bit more frightened. This new dragon was coming to fight and Ben was a bit worried that three dragons in one town might be a crowd.

"She's bluffing." The leader said before raising his club

"I wouldn't do that" Spud sang in a knowing tone

"Watch me" the troll leader said

Ben braced himself but instead of feeling the hit, he heard a grunt. He opened his eyes and saw a large red dragon fighting the trolls looking furious.

Two minutes later,

The lesser trolls ran off as the red dragon grabbed the leader by the collar of his shirt. Had Ben been paying attention, he would have heard the larger dragon threaten the troll saying, "Don't EVER come near my son again." However, between the waking up as a mythological creature and the attack of the trolls that actually existed in New York, he had other things to worry about.

"Welcome home Bro!" the pink dragon said after the Troll Leader went running

"Thanks" the red dragon, which to Ben sounded freakishly like his father, said . "I was on my way home when I got the call"

The red dragon then turned to the younger red dragon who gulped

"Are you okay Ben?" the dragon asked

Ben's jaw dropped. Now the dragon knew his name?

"You didn't hear out your mother's explanation did you?" the red dragon realized

"Mom hasn't even looked at me" Ben admitted

"Okay. First thing's first." The red dragon said before turning to the humans. "Meet us at Headquarters. Hales? You coming with us or going with the others?"

"I'll come with you" the pink dragon said

0000

Ben had to admit, when this new dragon wasn't fighting, he was actually pretty cool. The flight to Central Park had been a bit hard as it was his first time, but these new dragons were now giving him pointers.

A few minutes later, the trio of dragons landed on the roof of a familiar building.

"What are we doing at my aunt and uncle's shop?" Ben asked

Lao Shi had retired to spend more time with the Dragon Council, so as far as the mortal world knew, Lao Shi was dead and the shop was taken over by his granddaughter and her husband.

"I'll explain in a minute. Now, I'm sure you have a LOT of questions which I WILL answer" the red dragon said. "But I will warn you that you WILL be mad and us"

"'Us'?" Ben asked clearly confused

"Your mother, me, your aunt and uncle, your grandmother…basically everyone involved."

"Okay. Here's my first question. Can I revert back to my human shape or am I stuck as a dragon forever?"

"Just focus on your human form." The American dragon explained. "Though I should warn you that once you do, keeping dragon form will be harder for a few months"

Ben obeyed and closed his eyes. When he reopened them, the dragons were larger. He checked his hands and sighed with relief at the lack of scales and claws.

"Now…why would I get mad at you?" Ben asked

"Before we answer," the American Dragon answered as he knelt down and placed his own hands on Ben's shoulder. "Promise me that you'll hear me out before you jump to conclusions"

Ben nodded

A blue swirl engulfed the red dragon and a familiar face replaced the dragon.

"D-Dad?" Ben gasped before turning to the pink dragon

The swirl that engulfed her vanished to reveal his aunt

"Aunt Haley?" Ben asked starting to freak out "I-I don't understand"

"It's as it looks Ben" Haley said. "We're dragons"

"But…how?" Ben asked

"I explained that bit before my trip" Jake Long informed his son

"Not what I meant!" Ben said "Is EVERYONE in our family dragons?"

"No" Jake answered. "Your Grandpa Jonathan's not. It skipped your grandmother's generation, and your mother and her family aren't"

"Neither is your Uncle Seth" Haley said

"So basically…just you two and me?" Ben asked

"And your great-grandfather Lao Shi" Jake added

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Ben asked his father forgetting to remind Jake that Lao Shi was supposedly dead.

"Because you only showed your powers once before" Jake answered "After that, nothing. We were starting to think that the one time had been a fluke and it might have skipped your generation. We didn't want to introduce you and your sister into a world where you couldn't belong."

"Not to mention that little phase you went through where you told everyone everything" Haley reminded her nephew. "The magical world needs to be kept a secret"

"But what about Spud, Trixy, Chad, and Renee?" Ben asked. "And Mom and Uncle Seth. And Karen. Do they know?"

"Yes but they have their own stories" Jake said

"Except Karen. She doesn't know" Haley said

"I don't believe this" Ben said looking dazed as he walked over to the side of the building and looked over the New York skyline. "How could you keep something like this from me Dad?"

Jake turned to Haley and they exchanged a nod. Haley then went downstairs to inform the others that Jake and Ben were safe and were having a long overdue chat.

"Ben. Keeping this from you had been one of the top hardest things I've ever had to do" Jake said. "But there is a strict rule about human/magical creature interactions. Spud and Trixy…when they found out, I had been told to give them a potion to erase their memories. But their friendship meant more to me so I bailed on that and managed to convince your great-grandfather to speak on their behalf. Your mother and Uncle Seth grew up already knowing of the existence of magical creatures. The only reason your Grandma Susan was allowed to marry your Grandpa Jonathan was because the powers skipped her generation so technically she was human. He didn't learn of our existence until I was 14."

"And you and Mom?" Ben asked. "What caused the…whoever's in charge to allow you two to marry. And Uncle Seth to marry Aunt Haley?"

"Because your mother and Uncle Seth risked their lives to save the Dragon Council…it was after we were married, but…I'll tell you that story a bit later once you wrap your mind around all this" Jake said

The two stood in silence as Ben wrapped his mind around what he was learning

"So…everything Mom teaches is true?"

Jake nodded.

"When your sister started Kindergarten, I decided that since both of you were in school, I would be able to focus a bit more on my duties as the American Dragon. So, I let your mother take over the Mythology teacher position and I spent most of my time from 8-4 in the magical world helping those that need help."

"Your travels…"

"America's a big country." Jake explained. "When I told you that if all goes well, you would be able to tag along, I was serious."

"It's going to take some time for me to get used to this idea" Ben admitted.

"I understand. It's a lot to comprehend and I haven't even covered the half of it" Jake said "But when you ARE ready, I'll teach you how to control your powers. But until that time, now that you're back in human form, let's go home. Your mother is probably freaking out"

"Okay" Ben said

TBC

A/N: For those of you who are wondering about Karen, she is Haley and Seth's daughter. More details are to come in the next chapter which SHOULD be up tomorrow.


	3. More Information

**Chapter 2: More Information**

Father and son went downstairs to the main level

"Ben!"

Ben was crushed into a hug by his mother.

"Don't you EVER run off like that again young man!" Rose lectured "You are so lucky your Aunt and Uncle were on patrol and followed you!"

"Sorry for scaring you Mom" Ben apologized half-heartedly.

"You must have been just as frightened" Rose figured. "But I would have explained if you had just let me in"

"You should have seen her Ben!" the blond ten-year old said to her brother.

Flashback

"_But…"_

"_This is something Mommy and Ben need to talk alone about" Rose said_

_Julie went to her room, but didn't close the door all the way. Instead, she left it open a crack and watched as Rose stretched a bit._

"_Ben. This is your last chance. Either open the door, or step away from it" Rose instructed_

_Silence_

"_Okay. I'm coming in" Rose shouted as she kicked the door in "HIYA!"_

_Julie's jaw dropped as the door was knocked off its hinges_

"_Ben?" Rose asked as she entered the room looking worried "BEN?" _

_Hearing the worry in her mother's voice, Julie ran out of her room and into her brother's._

_Rose was starring at the opened window._

"_Benjamin Long." Rose said through gritted teeth before pulling out her cell phone and hit a speed-dial number. "Seth. It's Rose. Looks as if Ben came into his inheritance and I'm not expecting Jake back until later… how do you think he reacted? He ran off! Can you tell Haley to keep an eye out?... That would be great if you can talk them into it… I don't know, I haven't seen him today. He locked his door after he looked in the mirror…Thanks. Bye" _

_Rose hung up and buried her face in her hands as she sat on her son's bed_

"_We never should have thought them flooks" she declared_

"_Mom? What's wrong? Where did Ben go? Why did he leave?" Julie asked _

_Rose looked up at her confused and worried daughter. Gently she took Julie's hands in her owns and blue eyes met blue eyes._

"_Julie…you know what I teach at Ben's school?"_

"_Mythology" Julie answered to show that she did know_

"_Well, everything I teach is real. There are mermaids, leprechauns, fairies, gnomes, trolls, and all sorts of magical creatures living all over the world" _

"_What about dragons?" Julie asked having always had a fascination with dragons which her parents found humorous._

"_Oh yes. In fact, there's three…maybe four dragons living in New York City alone" Rose told her daughter. "In fact, some of these creatures…they can't fend for themselves and they need protection. Their protector is known as the American Dragon. Each country has a powerful dragon to protect the lesser creatures. And because America is so big, we have two. One who stays in New York and the other who goes off on long trips to help out others."_

"_Wow. But Mom? Why are you telling me this? And what does this have to do with Ben?"_

_Rose took a deep breath and squeezed her daughter's hands gently._

"_Because I know the identity of the American Dragon." Rose admitted. "And so do you" _

"_I do?" Julie asked quietly._

"_His name…is Jake Long" _

_Julie's eyes widened and her jaw dropped._

"_Daddy's a dragon?" Julie gasped_

_Rose smiled and nodded._

"_And whenever a dragon turns thirteen, he or she wakes up in their dragon form."_

"_So…Ben freaked out because he woke up as a dragon?" Julie figured_

"_That's right" Rose confirmed. "You see, both you and your brother showed one little episode of having the powers when you were babies. After that, nothing. Since it had skipped Grandma Susan's generation, we figured it might have skipped you and your brother so we dismissed the episodes as flooks. That's why we didn't tell you. Your father had planned to inform Ben last night, but he called and there was an issue with Big Foot. I know I probably could have warned Ben, but you know your brother. He'd need proof and last night was Karen's last day home before she had to go back to that boarding school" _

"_I understand Mom." Julie told her mother. "I just wish I could say the same for Ben" _

"_With any luck, your Aunt and your godparents will find him and explain everything." _

_RING RING_

_Rose jumped up and ran to the home phone and picked it up._

"_Hello?" she asked. "Seth! Did you find him?... Thank goodness… I just told Julie the truth… We're on our way" _

_Rose hung up looking relieved_

"_Mom?"_

"_Your brother was found and your father's back in town early."_

End Flashback

"You kicked down my door?" Ben exclaimed.

"It's almost like what's scarier:" Trixy pointed out. "a defensive American Dragon or an Overprotective Huntsgirl"

"We should have siced HER on the trolls" Spud said

"TROLLS!" Rose asked before turning to Ben. "Were you attacked by Trolls?"

"Dad beat them up before they could hurt me" Ben said

"That must have been so cool to watch!" Julie exclaimed

"Only lasted two minutes" Ben said before realizing something his godmother had said. "Why did you call Mom 'Huntsgirl,' Aunt Trixy?"

"You didn't tell your son how you met his mother?" Spud gasped at Jake

"I figured I'd let Rose here handle THAT conversation" Jake said

"Gee. Thanks" Rose said sarcastically.

"What's so bad about it?" Julie asked

Rose opened her mouth to speak, but a flush came from the bathroom. Everyone turned to see the Sharpe walk out on two feet holding a newspaper.

The kids blinked in confusion

"Uh…woof?" Fu asked

"you can cut the act Fu." Rose said. "The kids know. Ben got his dragon from this morning"

"Really? That's great Kid" Fu congratulated the Birthday boy. "By the way, Happy Birthday"

"Anything ELSE I should know about?" Ben asked his father CLEARLY stunned that his aunt's dog, which had once belonged to his great-grandfather, could talk

Jake turned to Rose who nodded the go-ahead

"When I met your mother, she was a dragon slayer" Jake said

TBC

Part of the reason why I've decided to wait is because I wanted to give previews. So, here's the preview for Chapter 3:

"_I was WONDERING what happened to my birthmark" Seth said rubbing his arm just under his left shoulder where his birthmark had been_

"_What Aztec Skulls?" Julie asked_


	4. A Real Romeo and Juliet Tale

**Chapter 3: A Real Romeo and Juliet Tale**

Ben's and Julie's jaws dropped

"However," Rose continued realizing that her kids just didn't know what to make of this. "Once I learned it was your father who was the dragon, I realized that I had merely been taught wrong and I became an ally to your father. I had realized that I would never be able to slay a dragon after learning that my crush was one"

"But…I don't understand" Ben said "Grandma Violet and Grandpa Bryan seem nice"

Rose sighed.

"When I was born," she explained. "I had a birthmark on my wrist and hand in the shape of a dragon. That was known as the 'Mark of the Huntsclan.' That day, I was taken from my parents and my twin sister, your Aunt Lily. I didn't meet them until the Christmas before I married your father."

"How come we've never seen it?" Julie asked. "The birthmark"

"Because it vanished after your father made a wish with the 13 Aztec Skulls that your uncle here and myself were no longer part of the Huntsclan"

"I was WONDERING what happened to my birthmark" Seth said rubbing his arm just under his left shoulder where his birthmark had been

"What Aztec Skulls?" Julie asked

"There were 13 skulls of Aztec warriors that when put together in a certain formation, would grant ANY wish. And as long as they weren't together, they were indestructible." Ben explained as his mother had recently covered that in school before the mold was found

"That's right Ben" Rose praised. "Once your father made that wish, I wished for the destruction of the Huntsclan. That way, it was one less danger to worry about and I could, relatively, publicly date a dragon without having to worry about the huntsclan learning of his identity. By dating your father, I was committing treason of the worst kind. But it was worth it"

Jake and Rose shared a smile and a kiss.

"What about you Uncle Seth?" Ben asked.

"Well, after I learned about your Aunt, I too switched over to the magical side" Seth explained. "Then when your parents destroyed all thirteen skulls, I moved in with Karen's godfather, Chad, as apparently MY parents put up more of a fight for me."

Haley placed a hand on her husband's shoulder knowing that this was a hard topic for him

"The huntsman killed his parents" Haley explained. "After Ben was born, we snooped around some Huntsclan ruins and we found the report"

"See why I left?" Rose asked her children.

"I don't blame you Mom" Julie said. "So…we don't have to worry about them?"

"Well, there were a few members who had left when the huntsclan was vanishing" Rose said. "88 and 89. But…they know better than to mess around magical creatures when your father's in town"

"I know this is changing the subject a bit, but," Ben asked turning to his father. "What do I tell my friends?"

"You don't" Jake, Haley, and Fu chorused

"But your friends know!" Ben pointed out

"our friends know because they found out for themselves" Haley said "And if your friends are as close to you as Spud and Trixy here are to Jake or how Renee and Chad are to me, then they WILL find out"

"We managed to talk the Dragon Council into allowing Trustworthy humans into knowing about the magical world if they should stumble on it or if they marry into it, but they drew the line at flat out going up to them and going 'I'm a dragon'" Jake added

"Fine" Ben sighed. "You said that you'd train me?"

"Isn't there a protocol against family training family?" Seth asked Jake

"There is," Jake confirmed, "But due to my experience with the Dark Dragon and the Huntsclan, Gramps convinced the dragon council to allow me to train my own son. JUST in case"

TBC

A/n: Sorry it's so short compared to the other chapters. Here's the preview

_Julie was watching wide-eyed as she had NEVER seen her father fight, let alone breath fire. _

"_Wow" Julie gasped _

_Rose then threw a concerned look towards her son as Ben had a bit of betrayal on his face all day. However, the concerned look dropped to a smile when she saw nothing but pure admiration and pride on her son's face as he watched his father take turns with his aunt as they switched back and forth between distracting the monster and forcing a hole into the floor leading to the sewers. There was still a small hint of betrayal, but it was very dim._


	5. Watching Dad at Work

**Chapter 4: Watching Dad at Work**

That evening,

"What do you mean the school's closed?" Jake asked his wife at dinner after getting caught up on what he missed in New York for the past year as he was dealing with some issues in the western states.

"The janitor found some mold" Rose said "Rotwood and I both checked it out and I recognized it. Luckily, so did he"

"How bad is it really?" Julie asked her mother

"Well, as far at Rotwood believes, the mold gives off a deadly fume after being exposed to fresh air for so long. However, that's not the truth."

"It's not?" Ben asked

"It's just residue from a swamp monster" Rose explained "I THINK it's looking for either your father or me for revenge"

"Probably me" Jake said.

"Couldn't you or Aunt Haley have handled it?" Julie asked now having seen a bit of her mother in action.

"We snuck to the school to try." Rose said turning to Ben. "That was when I told you that you had to babysit your sister when you wanted to go to the movies. However, when we got there, there was no way one dragon and two ex-huntsclan members plus four humans trained in magical combat and a talking dog could handle it. It's strong"

"So you needed the Am Drag on your team" Jake said.

"Yes" Rose said

"You guys went seven years without me" Jake reminded his wife.

"That was different Jake." Rose said. "We had Lao Shi for backup PLUS the huntsclan. Granted, the latter would have only helped if it was for their own personal gain and they didn't know they were helping dragons. Now with the Huntsclan destroyed, the only other strong-enough back-up would have been your grandfather."

"I understand" Jake said before looking like he had an idea. "Kids? How would you two like to seem me in action?"

"Really?" Julie asked excitedly as Ben continued playing with his food

"I've already seen you apparently" Ben said

"Trolls are nothing compared to something the team can't handle without me" Jake said

"Okay" Ben said

0000

After contacting Fu and Haley figuring they may be able to handle this without the other humans, the group went into the abandoned school.

"Hopefully after spending all this time in the abandoned school, it's weaker" Haley said

"Not when it's found the thermostat." Jake said as a wave of humidity hit him. He then turned to his wife and kids. "When we see the monster, duck and hide"

The family explored the abandoned school. Suddenly, Jake and Haley stopped

"Dad?" Julie asked

"Ear of the dragon" Jake whispered as his ear turned into his dragon ear.

"Ear of the dragon" Haley repeated as her own ear did the same to make sure she was hearing what her brother was.

"The basement" they chorused

The family went downstairs only to be greeted by a huge muck green slime monster.

"Stay in the stairwell!" Jake instructed his family before shouting along with his sister "DRAGON UP!"

Julie's jaw dropped as a blue swirl of what looked like magic engulfed her father as he jumped up and transformed into a dragon.

"Wow" Julie gasped

"Hey Ugly!" Jake bantered "Looking for something?"

The monster roared as he shot swamp muck that looked like mold at the American dragon.

Jake dodged each one. He then signaled to Haley who smirked and nodded before flying behind the monster to the boiler.

"Nothing like seeing good teamwork, eh Rose?" Fu asked

"Considering how those two were growing up, it definitely shows some hope" Rose agreed as she turned from the fight to her children.

Julie was watching wide-eyed as she had NEVER seen her father fight, let alone breath fire.

"Wow" Julie gasped

Rose then threw a concerned look towards her son as Ben had a bit of betrayal on his face all day. However, the concerned look dropped to a smile when she saw nothing but pure admiration and pride on her son's face as he watched his father take turns with his aunt as they switched back and forth between distracting the monster and forcing a hole into the floor leading to the sewers. There was still a small hint of betrayal, but it was very dim.

"NOW HALEY!" Jake called out as he flew up to her.

They both blew their dragon fire at the monster causing it to back up and fall into the hole and then they flew in after it.

"BEN!" Rose called as her son ran to the hole

Ben stopped at the entrance and looked in and listened closely

"AND STAY OUT OF TOWN!" Haley's voice rang through the sewer

Ben backed up as his father and aunt flew out of the sewer and they transformed back into their human forms

"That was AWSOME!" Julie exclaimed before anyone could say or ask anything "Will I be able to do that?"

"We'll see" Jake said "Providing the one bit of power you showed when you were born wasn't a flook like we were originally thinking now that we know Ben's weren't"

"And now that you'll be around the magical world between your father staying home more and your brother, there's a good chance you'll start developing your powers early" Haley said. "After all, I started developing mine when Jake here turned 13"

TBC

Coming soon:

"_So…let me get this straight" Ben said. "You and Dad kept the biggest secret of your lives from me and Julie just so we wouldn't know what we were missing if those one timers had just been a TINY bit of our dragon blood revealing itself?"_

"_Yes Ben." Rose confirmed "And it was one of the hardest things we've ever had to do. But honestly Ben? Had you been younger, how would you have taken the knowledge that your parents had once tried to kill each other literally?" _


	6. A MotherSon Chat

**Chapter 5: A Mother/Son Chat**

Three days later after the cleanup of the fight,

School was back in session and Ben was in mythology class being taught by his mother. At least now he knew that his mother did indeed know what she was talking about and why he was being forced to take it

RING!

The final bell rang and the class got up.

"I want a one page paper on the differences between fairies and pixies!" Rose called to the retreating class. "Ben. Hold on. I want a word"

Ben, Mark, and Ron turned to each other with a concerned look. Rose only called him after class after he would make a disturbance. That had only happened once as he had been chewed out both at school and at home

"Yes Mom?" Ben asked as he got up to the desk with his friends

'Mark. Veronica. Please wait for Ben outside" Rose said indicating to her son that this was a dragon matter

Ben held in a laugh at the low growl Ron emitted as she HATED her full name

"Yes Mom?" Ben tried again

"Ben. I know you're still annoyed with your father and myself for keeping your heritage from you. But the dragon council figured they loosened up too much for your father and are trying to tighten the reigns back up"

"How could you think that one time was a flook?" Ben asked one of the questions that had been on his mind for the past three days

"Because of how much human blood you have in you and the fact it skipped your grandmother's generation" Rose said "I'm as human as they come as is your paternal grandfather. And according to your great-grandfather, when your grandmother was born without the powers, she had been cut off from the magical world with the exception of her relatives. It wasn't until your father was your age she got back into it"

"So…let me get this straight" Ben said. "You and Dad kept the biggest secret of your lives from me and Julie just so we wouldn't know what we were missing if those one timers had just been a TINY bit of our dragon blood revealing itself?"

"Yes Ben." Rose confirmed "And it was one of the hardest things we've ever had to do. But honestly Ben? Had you been younger, how would you have taken the knowledge that your parents had once tried to kill each other literally?"

"Considering how you and Dad are whenever you are together in public, I would not have believed it."

"Right" Rose confirmed

"But why didn't you warn me the night before?"

"You're one of those kids that need proof." Rose said "And the only proof I could produce is something your father would have to explain so you wouldn't freak out. Ben. The point of the conversation is that you need to train. If only so you won't get into another mess like you did with the trolls. And your father is the best dragon there is"

"What do I tell my friends?" Ben asked

"Well…you can tell them one of two things" Rose suggested. "One, you can do what your father did and say that you had a part-time job at the shop. OR you can tell them that your Dad's back in town and you want to spend some time with him"

"Okay Mom" Ben said before turning to go. However, another question came to mind. "Mom? What about Karen?"

"What about your cousin?" Rose asked

"Is she a dragon too?"

"There's a very good chance that she is" Rose confirmed "But right now she's in France under the care of the French Dragon, little does she know. She's getting a bit of her training in without knowing it."

"She gets a head start in training?" Ben exclaimed

"You and your sister have been getting head starts as well" Rose said "Why do you think I signed you up for all those martial arts lessons when you were eight?"

"Oh. I thought you and Dad just wanted me to learn more about my heritage" Ben said as the truth became clear

"No. We were PREPARING you to learn more about your heritage in case you frying Fu's paper wasn't a flook" Rose said

"It's still going to take some time to get used to this" Ben told his mother more about Fu being able to talk and his great-grandfather still being alive. "But… I'll start my training"

"That's my boy" Rose said proudly. "Your father's at the shop preparing for when you are ready to start training"

Ben left the classroom.

"What did your mom want?" Ron asked

"Just…uh…Aunt Haley and Uncle Seth asked her if I'd be willing to work after school. Help out at the shop the way Dad had done when he was my age"

"Sounds fun. Need help?" Mark asked

"No Mark. Thanks for the offer, but I think we've got this under control." Ben said as they walked out of the shop. "I'll call when I'm done"

He slipped on his helmet and skateboarded to the electronic shop to begin his new life.

Two days later,

Ben had finally mastered dragoning-up and was now ready to start learning how to fight in dragon form. However, apparently Jake had other ideas which were amusing to Seth and Haley

"You want me to WHAT?" Ben asked his father.

"I asked my dragon master the same thing" Jake said smirking at the stunned look his son was giving him "But you heard me. Dragon up and sweep the shop with your dragon tail"

"What does that have to do with training?" Ben asked.

"Seth?" Jake asked

"Sure thing Jake" Seth said jumping over the counter as Jake dragoned-up. Seth then grabbed a broom and treated it as a Hunts-staff.

Ben watched as his father and uncle had a mock battle. Realization struck when he saw Jake knock Seth down with his tail using a sweeping motion.

"Okay!" Ben realized "I get it"

"You're pretty lucky Kid" Fu told the teen. "When your father was training, his gramps had a 'don't ask, just do' attitude. It wasn't until your Dad's first REAL fight against your Mom that he realized that those exercises had a point"

"And I can give you worse exercises besides sweeping" Jake added

"How?" Ben challenged

"My master had me clean the toilet with my dragon tongue and do his laundry" Jake informed him

"Why?" Seth asked

"Well, the tongue thing I realized when fighting Rose that first time" Jake explained. "The training may have been nasty, but as my feet and arms had been tied down, using my tongue helped me deflect some Hunts-weapons. I'll find another way to train Ben in that"

"Thank you" Ben said not really wanting to clean the toilet Fu spent most of his time at. "But…what about the laundry?"

"Apparently, Gramps needed his laundry done" Jake said with an eyeroll. "So let's get this place swept and then we'll get to work on your flight"

TBC

Next time:

"_You mean I've been babysat by MERMAIDS when I'm out with my friends?" Ben asked_

"_Yeah. By the way, where did Mark get the idea that I work for the government?" _

"_I'm never talking when surfing again" Ben declared realizing that the mermaids probably told his father everything._


	7. The Dragon Retreat

A/N: I posted this chapter at around midnight. HAPPY NEW YEAR! (balloons and confetti come falling down as Auld Lang Syne is playing in the background)

**Chapter 6: The Dragon Retreat**

Two months later

"Dad? I still don't get it" Ben said. "I thought we were going on a Dragon Retreat"

"We are" Jake said enjoying every minute of his son's confusion and now knowing why his grandfather had done some of the things he had done.

"So why are we taking a train to an island on the other side of the world?"

"Ben. I'm going to tell you something my grandfather/dragon-master told me" Jake warned "Don't be ridiculous…. We're taking the elevator"

Ben froze in his tracks.

"I'm sorry Dad. I must not have heard you right. I could have sworn you said we're taking the ELEVATOR"

Jake walked over to said elevator and pushed the buttons in a code and twisted the board

"I thought the same thing too" Jake explained to his son who's jaw had dropped as the elevator door opened to reveal a goblin.

"Welcome to Enchanted Elevators. Where service always comes with a smile" the goblin said in a monotonous voice forcing said smile. "Please prepare for departure"

"Hold on tight Kid" Fu warned Ben.

"Why Fu?" Ben asked as Jake moved Ben over to where he was…FAR away from Fu.

"Because I haven't made it through once without my friend Ralph Upchuck making a big splash"

"Going down" the elevator goblin warned

A few minutes later, they arrived at the location

"Ben Long. Welcome to the Isle of Draco" Fu said to the young teen who was swaying a bit.

Ben's jaw dropped at the sight of the other dragons.

"Wow" Ben gasped

"JAKE!" a voice called

Ben, Jake, and Fu turned to see a yellow dragon fly over to them and landed. The dragon then turned into his human shape to reveal a man Jake's age and the same build.

"Fred! How's it going Man?" Jake asked as he shook the other man's hand.

"It's going alright. I'm just signing up to be put on the optional dragon-master list. You?"

"The retreat" Jake said putting his hand on Ben's back. "Fred. This is my son Ben. Ben. This is Fred Nerk. The Australian Dragon"

"Nice to meet you Kid" Fred said shaking Ben's hand. "Your Dad's helped me out in a tight spot many years ago."

"Are you referring to the Dark Dragon or the Yowie?" Jake asked

"Okay. A FEW tight spots" Fred said before turning to Jake. "Are you going to show the kid that statue?"

"You bet I am" Jake said

"You have your own statue?"

"No" Jake said. "Come on Ben. I'll show you the statues, then I'll introduce you to the World Dragon Council. Fred. Good to see you again"

"Likewise"

The two shook hands again before Fred transformed and flew off.

0000

A few minutes later, Ben found himself in the gym looking at a bunch of statues.

"These, Ben, are the Top 13 dangers to magical society." Jake informed his son. "Cyclops, Hobgoblins, Minotaur, Krylock, Abemetrix, Hydra, Chimeras, Kraken, Roc, Huntsman, Stregoi, Basilisk, and the Dark Dragon. Some are more dangerous than others and others you just shouldn't have to worry about anymore, but we keep their statue up as a reminder."

(A/N: I would like to thank T-rex 989 for his/her help on this list as he/she made some good points in a P.M. conversation we had back in October of 2010)

"How are some of these dangerous?" Ben asked

"Some are just because they're a threat of exposure" Jake explained. "Others…are just plain evil"

"The Huntsman…" Ben whispered as he went to the Number 4 bad guy "Isn't he the guy who trained Mom and Uncle Seth?"

"Yes" Jake confirmed. "But you shouldn't have to worry about him. Your mother took care of him"

"And what about this guy?" Ben asked pointing at the Dark Dragon's statue

"The reason why I'm training you and not someone like Ms. Park or someone else." Jake said. "The Dark Dragon. He was defeated by your great-grandfather a long time ago. The Dragon council thought he was gone for good. Gramps…your great-grandfather, insisted that he train me in case he came back. And he did. It took a lot of people to bring him down, but we managed and he SHOULD be gone for another 1000 years…well…actually 986 more years, but…Gramps and I both think we shouldn't hold our breaths. He's come back twice before"

"Paranoid much?" Ben asked

"I almost lost you when you were born Ben. I'm not taking the chances" Jake said

"You did?" Ben asked not having heard the story

"You were premature" Jake said. "You had me and your mother downright scared. But you're a strong kid like I was. If I can defeat the Dark Dragon, you can."

"You really think so?" Ben asked

"Ever heard the phrase, 'Like Father, Like Son'?" Jake asked

Ben groaned. Even though he loved his Dad, he HATED that phrase

"You're more like me than you want to be" Jake added "However, you must take the training seriously. I'm trying to make it as fun as possible for you, but the Dark Dragon is a part of our family's history. Both because your great-grandfather was the first to fight him and live to the fact that…"

"What?" Ben asked

"Do you REALLY want to know?" Jake asked

"Yeah" Ben said though not really sure

"He almost killed you" Jake said

"That makes no sense" Ben said. "You said he was gone for 14 years. I'm 13"

"To be more specific, he's been gone, as of your birthday, 13 years, seven months, and three weeks" Jake said "I just rounded up"

"You mean…Mom was pregnant with me?"

"Yes. We didn't know it at the time, but you were pretty lucky. You've been having near misses all your life Ben. ESPECIALLY when you were a baby. That's the other reason why we've been insisting that I be the one to train you. Because you'd have me, your aunt, your uncle, and your mother to train you"

"But Dad. I haven't had any accidents when I surf" Ben said

"That's because I have the mermaids keep an eye on you" Jake said "Now come on. Let's meet the Dragon Council"

"You mean I've been babysat by MERMAIDS when I'm out with my friends?" Ben asked

"Yeah. By the way, where did Mark get the idea that I work for the government?"

"I'm never talking when surfing again" Ben declared realizing that the mermaids probably told his father everything.

0000

A few minutes later,

Jake, Fu, and Ben walked into a room where a long table was stationed at one end. On the other side of the table were five dragons.

"So this is the new American Dragon," the light blue dragon mused.

"Yes Councilor." Jake said. "Ben. These are Councilors Andam, the African Dragon; Kulde, the European Dragon; Omina, the Atlantian Dragon; and Kukulkan, the Central American Dragon. All of these Councilors preside over the dragons of the individual countries."

"Dad. You missed one" Ben informed his father pointing at the dark blue-almost purple dragon who was smiling knowingly

"I wanted to introduce him privately" Jake said returning the smile towards the dragon.

"Quite understandable" Kulde said. "So I trust that young Benjamin is definitely a dragon?"

"Show him" Jake instructed

"DRAGON UP!" Ben shouted as he transformed

"He is his father's son" the un-named dragon mused fondly "How long have you been training young dragon?"

"Two months. Would have been three, but I had some issues to work out" Ben explained

"Truthful. Impressive" Andam said to Jake

"I learned from the best" Jake said looking at the un-named dragon

After being quizzed on some stuff, Ben was getting the lowdown on the Dragon Council from Fu.

"Oh yeah. Each of them were once dragons of their own countries. And in a few years, your Dad will be joining the council as will Nerk once they declare their replacements. Jake would have been a council member already, but Haley already had seven years being the Am Drag and she didn't want to go full time."

"So she chose being an artist over this?" Ben asked.

"That's right."

"But what about that Dragon Dad wanted me to wait to meet privately."

"Let's just say, you've met this guy before" Fu hinted as if in on the secret

"Ben!" Ben looked up and saw his father with a short elderly man who looked vaguely familiar to Ben

"Yeah Dad?" Ben asked

"You wanted the introduction" Jake informed his son that this was the un-named Chancellor. Ben. This is the Asian Dragon…Lao Shi."

"Isn't that…you mean you're…" Ben stuttered.

"Yes Young Dragon" Lao Shi said. "I am your great-grandfather"

"But…but I thought you were dead!"

"Not dead" Lao Shi said with a laugh in his tone. "Just retired to the Isle of Draco"

"Does Grandma and Aunt Haley know?" Ben asked his father

"Of course" Jake said. "You think Gramps would just leave his store with anybody?"

"How are your mother and sister?" Lao Shi asked Jake

"Fine. Mom and Dad moved to Florida once Dad retired and Haley and Seth took over the shop. Haley's a full time artist and Seth basically runs the shop while Fu and I take care of the magical aspects and Rose teaches in my stead."

"And young Karen?"

"Boarding school for Dance in France" Ben answered

"Takes after her mother." Lao Shi mused. "And young Juliet?"

"Annoying as ever" Ben answered

"She's good. Doesn't have her powers yet except for that one time like Ben here, but we figured if we give her time, she'll develop much like Haley did" Jake said rustling his son's hair

"Very good" Lao Shi before turning to Fu. "And I trust that you've been behaving yourself, Fu Dog?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Fu asked

Lao Shi just raised his eyebrows as did Jake.

"Okay. I could be a BIT better behaved" Fu admitted. "But then I wouldn't be me now would I?"

"No, I guess not" Lao Shi mused before turning to Jake. "Jake. The World Dragon Council has decided that, like they did you, they would test young Benjamin. However, the tests will be in 4 months. Have him trained and ready or else you risk the same thing I did when you took the tests."

"Don't worry Gramps. Ben will be ready" Jake said before turning to his son. "Let's just hope that you won't have to worry about what I did"

Ben gulped

"Don't sweat Kid" Fu said. "With Jake as your teacher, you'll know all the ropes. You wouldn't BELIEVE the messes he got into so he knows all the tricks of getting out"

"Really?" Ben asked Fu though looking at his father "Like what?"

"How about the time he took a Nix to a school dance?" Fu suggested.

"Rose was already going with Brad" Jake defended

"And that Nix what Hot" Fu added

"It was to make Rose jealous and I was only 13. Tell me Ben. What would you have done if Mark went with Ron to the school dance"

"DAD!" Ben gasped amazed that his father knew about his crush on Ron.

"Ben. I have pixies, fairies, sprites, mermaids, leprechauns, and ever other magical creature keeping an eye on you as a temporary favor of me looking after them." Jake said. "You're not hiding anything from me."

"Do I have ANY privacy?" Ben asked

"Your room and the bathroom" Jake answered. "Though once you get on that fire escape, you're in the care of the sprites"

"Great. Now I'm going to be as paranoid as you" Ben said sarcastically

"That's the idea" Jake said under his breath as his son went with Fu to be introduced to some other dragons his age.

TBC

Tomorrow (hopefully):

"_Uh…I mean…" the dragon said before clearing his throat and deepening his voice. "Humans! How DARE you infiltrate my training?" _

"_How dare WE?" Ron asked "how dare YOU keep such a big secret from us, Benjamin Long?" _

"_Ron. That's a dragon. Not Ben" Mark told her_


	8. Busted

**Chapter 7: Busted**

The months passed and Ben had passed his training test. Of course, it helped that Jake made training fun and they had some help between Rose, Seth, Haley, Trixy, Spud, Chad, and Renee mixed in with Julie's cheering.

It was now six months after Ben started his dragon training and Mark and Ron were starting to worry about their friend.

"Hey Ben?" Ron asked. "Wanna go board at the skate park?"

"Sorry Ron. Can't" Ben said apologetically as if he wanted nothing more. "But I have dra…er…work"

"Isn't there something called 'Child Labor Laws'?" Mark asked

"Uncle Seth and Aunt Haley need the help" Ben argued

"Ben. We've rarely seen you these past six months. You're always doing something with your Dad or your Aunt and Uncle and you missed some of the best surf" Ron stated "We miss you"

"I miss you guys too." Ben said sincerely "But Dad said that there are reasons and it's better to be safe than sorry. I'll see if I can't get the weekend off and the three of us can just have the weekend to ourselves. No parents, no little sisters…"

_No magical beings_

Ben put on his helmet and skateboarded to the shop as Mark and Ron went the opposite direction.

0000

A few hours later in Central Park,

Mark and Ron were resting after skateboarding and getting lost.

"Last time I ever ask you to lead the way" Ron snapped at Mark.

Suddenly, there was a rustling noise

"What was that?" Mark squeaked as he ducked behind the bench.

Ron went around to join Mark, but instead of hiding from fear, she hid to spy.

Suddenly, something large and red came flying from the bushes. Ron's jaw dropped as she recognized what it was

It was a dragon.

Suddenly, a medium-sized pink dragon flew up to him.

"That the best you got nephew?" the pink dragon asked in a familiar voice to the spies.

"That was a dirty trick Aunt Haley" the red dragon accused in a REALLY familiar voice as another red dragon flew to the fray. This one was larger which told Ron that this new one was a full grown dragon

"You have to be prepared for ANY tricks. There ARE dragons out there that will play dirty. And not just dragons. Trolls are some of the worst" the larger red dragon

"Besides," the pink dragon added with a smirk "if you want to graduate to the next level and fight your uncle or your mother to prepare you for dragon hunters, you have to beat me"

She then took a deep breath and breathed fire causing the spies' jaws to drop. That myth was TRUE?

The smaller red dragon ducked and rolled under the flying pink dragon and used his tail to grip her.

"if you were anyone else, I'd breath fire on you right now." The smaller red dragon told his aunt

"Plus there's the fact you still need to work on controlling it" the larger one added

"At least his flames come out the RIGHT end" the pink one teased

"Nobody is going to let me live that down, are they?" the larger dragon asked with a sigh

"Nope" the pink one teased with a smirk as the smaller one laughed

"Okay son" the larger dragon said indicating that pick-on-the-American-dragon time was over. "Good job with your aunt."

"Does that mean I can graduate to dragon hunters?" the smaller one asked excitedly

"yes, but not today" the father confirmed proudly. "We can start tomorrow."

"Actually Dad…" the smaller dragon said as if there was a conflict. "I was wondering if I could have the weekend off. My friends are really worried"

"Why didn't you say anything before? Of course you can have a bit of time off to hang out with your friends. You only need to tell me when you need a break"

"I didn't want you to think I didn't want to train"

"Son" The larger dragon said flying up to his son and placed a hand on his shoulder "I was once 13 myself. I know how important it is for you to have fun with your friends. However, that shouldn't be your WHOLE life as it had been in the past."

"Why six months after the training?" the aunt asked

"Truthfully…it was a good way to avoid the questions. But I've been missing them and now that I have better control in most of my powers, I can hang out. Plus I've had time to think of good cover stories. But I'm still a bit worried that Ron won't buy it."

"That Veronica IS a smart girl" the aunt informed the father

Ron's jaw dropped. The name, the voices, the story…they all fit, but it was impossible.

"Excuse me?" she asked as she came out of hiding.

"Ron!" Mark exclaimed horrified having not put two and two together yet.

"Ron? Mark?" the smaller dragon asked looking panicky before looking around to see that his father and aunt had flown the coop to see how Ben would handle the situation.

"Uh…I mean…" the dragon said before clearing his throat and deepening his voice. "Humans! How DARE you infiltrate my training?"

"How dare WE?" Ron asked "how dare YOU keep such a big secret from us, Benjamin Long?"

"Ron. That's a dragon. Not Ben" Mark told her

"I think I would know my best friend" Ron argued

Realizing that his aunt was right about Ron being smart, Ben sighed and transformed back into his human appearance.

"BEN?" Mark gasped "How the hell are you a dragon?"

"Born this way, but came into my inheritance months ago" Ben answered

"How can you keep this from us?" Ron asked again with tears of betrayal in her eyes.

"Up until I got the powers, I wasn't aware of them myself." Ben answered

"And after?" she asked crossing her arms "I thought we were friends Ben"

"We are" Ben told them "I wanted nothing more than to tell you these past seven months, but…"

"SEVEN MONTHS!" she interrupted

"You've lied to us for seven months?" Mark asked stunned

"I didn't want to" Ben tried to reason.

"You know…I don't want to hear it" Ron said before turning around and walking away in a huff trying to hide the tears in her eyes

"Ron! Mark!" Ben called out as Mark followed her

When Ben felt a comforting hand on his shoulder, he turned and embraced his father who had transformed

"Give them time" Jake told his son. "They've just had a bad shock"

"I hate that rule" Ben told his father rightfully looking like he had lost his best friends.

"So do I" Jake assured his son

0000

Meanwhile, in another part of the park

Ron had finally stopped running and sat by a fountain (the one where Haley met Chad).

"Wow" Mark said after 10 minutes of silence. "Ben's a dragon. Never would have guessed that. I wonder why he didn't tell us"

"He didn't have a choice" a voice came

The two 13, almost 14, year olds turned and saw four adults they recognized. Two were Ben's godparents: Trixy and Spud. The other two were Ben's cousin's godparents: Renee and Chad. It had been Trixy who had spoken

"What do you mean?" Mark asked

"We mean that there's a rule that humans can't know of the magical world" Trixy answered

"You four know apparently" Veronica accused

"That's because we found out" Renee said "Haley transformed in front of us to save us from a dragon who was willing to do us harm. After we fainted, she told us it was a dream, but…"

"Better than us." Spud said. "When we found out about Jake, he had been knocked unconscious and landed in front of us. Then we sold him to Rotwood for cash. When we went to go tell Jake, we found some pictures on his computer of him transforming"

"And you were his friends?" Mark asked

"We didn't know it at the time and when we figured it out, we did everything we could to help." Trixy said

"And when we figured out the truth about Haley, we went right to her side to help" Renee added

"We were, as Trixy, Spud, and Jake put it, 'Friends for Life and Friends for Real'" Chad said. "We NEVER walked out on them"

"Like we just did" Mark realized with a wince

"We figured it was just the shock talking. At least that's what Jake's telling Ben" Spud explained "But Ben's going to need all the friends he can get"

"But he lied to us!" Ron argued.

"Oh? And you've never lied to your friends?" Trixy asked

"Well…" Mark admitted

"Mark?" Ron asked stunned

"The E in my middle name doesn't stand for 'Edward'" Mark confessed. "It's Eugene"

"Ron" Renee said. "According to Haley, one of Ben's first questions once he was told of his dragon heritage was if he can tell you. But the answer was No. You and Mark had to figure it out yourselves if you were to get involved"

0000

An hour later

Ben was at the shop helping Fu organize his potion collections

"Give them time Kid. Finding out your best friend's a mythological being is a big step" Fu assured Ben

"I don't know. Ron hadn't looked this betrayed since her parents got that divorce after her father was caught cheating" Ben said with a sigh.

"Really?" Fu asked stunned not having heard that

"Two years ago, her Dad started telling her and her mother that he had to work late and went on business trips. However, she had noticed that he would never kiss her mother goodbye. A year later, he was caught having an affair and her parents divorced. Ever since, Ron's had issues with lying"

"Ben." Jake said peeking into the back room that was reserved for the magical realm material. "You have some guests."

He then moved aside and let the redheaded girl and the brown-haired boy.

"Ron? Mark?" Ben asked confused

"Look" Ron said as if this was hard. "I'm still upset that you've lied to us, but it's been explained that you had absolutely no choice in the matter. But…just because of this, doesn't mean you're any different than before"

"You're secret's safe with us" Mark translated "And if you need help, just ask us"

"But no more lies" Ron said

"Deal" Ben said as they shook on it using their groups' secret handshake

"So…" Mark asked once the air was cleared. "All your Mom teaches is real?"

"Yeah" Ben said "she used to be a dragon slayer as did Uncle Seth"

"And your Dad and Aunt MARRIED them?" Mark asked

"It only gets weirder" Ben warned them.

"I wouldn't exactly say 'weird'" Fu pointed out

Mark's jaw dropped and Ron promptly fainted

"Smooth Fu" Ben said sarcastically but glad that his friends were accepting this. He turned to his father who was giving him an I-told-you-so smirk. Ben just smiled back

TBC

Next time

"_I haven't heard anything, but that doesn't mean he doesn't" Jake said before smirking. "It's for this purpose I haven't called your Grandpa Jonathan and Grandma Susan to tell them about your training. For all they knew, that fire breath when you were a baby was a flook" _

"_!" a scream came_

_The two dragons transformed and flew to Julie's room._


	9. Reunion

**Chapter 8: Reunion**

The months passed again and Summer vacation was upon our heroes. Rose and Seth had taken to training Ron and Mark so they could easily help Ben. Ben had been a dragon for over a year now and had MUCH better control.

Seth and Haley had gone to France to visit Karen and see how she was doing in the school for dance leaving Jake in charge of the shop. But now school was over and Ben, Ron, and Mark had graduated middle school and were mentally preparing for High School.

Of course, Ben had bigger problems to worry about that were scarier than High School.

"Dad! Do we HAVE to go?" Ben whined

"Yes Ben. I don't like it any more than you do, but I missed the past five reunions" Jake said. "And you missed the last one due to our training"

Jake turned from packing the suitcase and smiled at the fact that Ben looked as if he'd rather give an ogre a foot massage than go to the reunion

"Ben. I know how you feel" Jake said placing a hand on his son's shoulder "I HATED going to Aunt Kathy's when I was your age. Heck, when I spent that seven years abroad to hide the skull, when I was in her neck of the woods, I camped out on the beach to avoid the reunion. But let me give you a tip. If your second-cousin Nicky gives you ANY grief and you're challenged to a dragon competition, check for loopholes. If you race around the island once, make sure you only do it once"

"Does Nicky have his powers?"

"I haven't heard anything, but that doesn't mean he doesn't" Jake said before smirking. "It's for this purpose I haven't called your Grandpa Jonathan and Grandma Susan to tell them about your training. For all they knew, that fire breath when you were a baby was a flook"

"!" a scream came

The two dragons transformed and flew to Julie's room.

Julie had been trying on her new swimsuit when she noticed that her arms were covered in purple scales

Jake relaxed and transformed back as Rose made it to the top of the stairs

"What's wrong?" Rose asked as she entered the room as Ben gapped at his sister

"Being around us in our dragon forms activated Julie's dragon gene like it did with Haley" Jake explained

"That's it? I'm just getting my powers?" Julie asked

"Yeah" Jake confirmed. "Of course, you won't be at FULL power and flying will be a bit difficult until you turn 13"

"Whew" Julie sighed with relief before perking up. "Does this mean I can help Ben?"

"No/We'll see" Ben and his parents answered

0000

The next day,

"Can I transform and go on and show off?" Ben asked as Jake knocked on the door of Kathy's beach home

"Ben" Rose warned as the door opened

"Hello Aunt Kathy" Jake greeted

"Jake! Come on in" Kathy greeted as she hugged Jake before turning to Ben and Julie "There is no way these two are Ben and Juliet"

"Hi Aunt Kathy" the kids greeted, Julie a bit more enthusiastically than her older brother

"Hello Rose" Kathy greeted the kids' mother politely

"Hello Kathy" Rose returned the greeting knowing that the lack of warmth that Jake and the kids got was due to not only her human background, but her dragon slaying past (even though the only dragon she 'slew' was the Dark Dragon).

"And Fu Dog! You managed to come as well"

"Yeah" Fu said

The Longs went into the house.

"So Jake," Kathy said. "We missed you at the last few reunions"

"Yeah. Sorry about that Aunt Kathy" Jake apologized. "The year before last, there was an incident in Alaska I had to tend to and last year, Ben was in the middle of his training. He got his dragon form last year"

"Really?" Kathy said. "Well, Nicholas got his dragon form 6 months ago"

"I'm getting my form" Julie said with a grin as she concentrated hard and transformed. "Daddy says that I just need to hang out around him and Ben more during their training and then I'll be as good as Aunt Haley was"

"That's nice dear" Kathy said

The family then went into the living room.

"Well, well. If it isn't the prodigal" an Asian-American man a year younger than Jake teased

"Hello Greggy" Jake said using the childhood nickname of his cousin before turning to his cousin's son. "Hello Nicky"

"Actually, I'm going by Nicholas now" Nicky, who was the splitting image of his father, admitted "I've gotten my dragon powers now"

"I've had them for a year" Ben told his cousin

"Whoa. Déjà vu" Fu muttered

"What do you mean?" Rose asked

"The looks Ben and Nicky are giving each other…the same glares Jake and Greggy gave each other"

DING DONG

Kathy went to open the door as Jake greeted his other aunts and uncles as he pulled Ben along knowing that if he left Ben and Nicky alone for too long…well…it would really be him and Greggy all over again.

"Aunt Rose!" a voice came gaining the blond's attention

"Karen!" Rose exclaimed as the ten year old Asian-American girl jumped into her arms. "You've gotten taller"

"Merci" Karen said showing off her French before turning to her cousin. "Hi Julie"

"Hi Karen. How was France?"

"Tres Bien" Karen said as Seth and Haley entered the living room. "But I'm back for good now"

"Is that so?" Jake asked as he walked up to his niece

"Hi Uncle Jake" Karen said hugging her Uncle tightly

"She managed to graduate Top of her class" Seth announced

"That's good news" Jake said before turning to Karen. "Congratulations"

"Thanks" Karen said

"Um…Aunt Haley? Uncle Seth? Does Karen know…?"Ben asked

"Of course I know Ben" Karen said with a smile before concentrating and some blue scales formed on her arms. "My transformation is still weak, but Madame Moreau said that if I'm around dragons more, the transformation will be easier. Since she was the only one around, that's why its weak"

"I managed to transform for the first time yesterday" Julie informed her cousin

"Really?" Haley asked before turning to Jake for confirmation only to see him nod. "That's GREAT!"

"What color?" Karen asked

"Purple" Juliet said

DING DONG

Jake and Haley looked around as Kathy went to open the door to see who was left. Due to his Dragon Council duties, Lao Shi couldn't come to the reunion (but Jake had made a mental note to take Julie down to meet him). So who was left

The siblings exchanged a smile with realization and then stepped aside so that the kids could have a clear shot

"Hola Familia" a familiar male voice called out as two more entered the room

"Sorry we're late" an equally familiar female voice came from the woman

"Grandma/Grandpa!" Julie and Karen exclaimed as they made a bee-line for their grandparents.

"Hey Kids!" Jonathan Long greeted Karen and Julie as Julie hugged him. "Long time no see"

"Sorry we missed last year's reunion" Julie apologized. "Ben and Daddy were wrapped up in training so Ben could pass that test"

"Training?" Susan asked as she released Karen and turned to her son and grandson. Jake smiled at his mother and nodded

"Both kids have their dragon powers now" Rose explained.

"And Karen got hers three days ago" Seth added

"That's GREAT!" Jonathan congratulated the three kids

"Thanks Grandpa" Ben said

"Speaking of grandfathers," Susan said turning to her children. "Have you spoken to yours lately?"

"I had a word with him a few weeks ago. He's fine" Jake said

"I'm planning on introducing Karen to him after the reunion" Haley added.

"I'm looking forward to it" Karen admitted

"Me too" Julie said. "Ben told me of his meeting with Great-grandpa Lao Shi"

"At least you two were warned he's still alive" Ben pointed out as his grandmother took the opportunity to hug him.

"So Rose?" Jonathan asked. "Have you heard from your family lately?"

"Yeah" Rose said. "Just the other day actually. You know how my sister and her husband have been trying for a baby?"

"She finally conceived?" Susan asked

"Yeah…RIGHT after an adoption was finalized" Rose laughed "So I'm getting a niece and…whatever her new baby is going to be. She's only a month in so it's too early"

"And your parents?" Jonathan asked

"They're fine. Enjoying retirement in Utah" Rose said

"I always make a point to visit whenever I'm in that area" Jake added

"Hey Dad?" Ben asked "Does that mean that when we go train out-of-state, I can actually visit instead of calling them over the phone?"

"Of course" Jake said. "in fact, I was thinking for our long-distance flying lesson, we can fly to their home"

"Okay everyone" Kathy announced "Dinner"

Jake shot Ben an apologetic look as there was no room at the adult table for him. Then the father got an idea and motioned for Ben.

"Yeah?" Ben asked

"Remember your firebreathing training." Jake hinted. "If something's not as warm as you like it…you're the only dragon at the kid's table with GOOD fire-breath and control. You can also tell stories of your training"

Ben smiled

"Thanks Dad" Ben said realizing what his father was saying

Nicky LOVED being the center of attention. But from what Ben and his father had learned before the Hunters arrived, Nicky doesn't have an instructor yet so Ben was light-years ahead of his cousin.

This just might be the best reunion yet

TBC

Coming up:

_Ben had no idea which parent looked deadlier. His mother or his father._

_And it wasn't just them who came to his rescue. There was also his aunt and uncle, Fu Dog, his cousin, her dragon master who was the high school home economics teacher (Sun moved up), Trixie, Spud, Renee, Chad, and another guy Ben hadn't met yet yielding a stick. _

"_Looks like Long brought in the cavalry" Chang mused _

"_Got that right" Jake told her "Luckily, we're not too late" _

"_I beg to differ" Chang said before transforming and going for her staff_

"_Oh no you don't!" Rose shouted pointing her hunts-staff at the space between Chang and the magical staff._

_However Chang got to it first and pointed the staff at Rose shooting the mother._

"_ROSE!/MOM!" everyone shouted as Jake flew to catch his wife._


	10. Close Call

**Chapter 9: Close Call**

A month later,

It was a quiet Saturday morning in the Long home…well…as quiet as the Long home can get.

Jake was reading the paper when he heard a racket upstairs.

"What on Earth do those two do up there every morning?" Rose asked as she looked up at the ceiling.

"It's just a Long sibling ritual" Jake explained knowingly as he went back to his reading. "Race each other to the bathroom. Haley and I did it constantly"

A few minutes later, the looser, which was Ben, came down looking disgruntled

"She used her wings?" Jake asked his son with a smirk

"Yeah" Ben sighed

"Your Aunt did it to me too" Jake explained as he put the paper down. "Ben? How would you like to take today off?"

"Really?" Ben asked perking up before looking suspicious. "COMPLETELY off or will you be springing something on me to keep me on my toes?"

"If anything is sprung on you, it won't be my doing" Jake promised

"Can Mark, Ron, and I go surfing in the harbor?"

"I see no reason why not" Rose said.

"Thanks guys" Ben said hugging his parents before running upstairs to get dressed

"I think you made his day" Rose told her husband as she kissed him.

0000

An hour after Ben left and Julie left to help Seth and Haley at the shop leaving Jake and Rose with the house to themselves

DING DONG

"Who can that be?" Rose asked as she went to the door and opened it to reveal two women her age. "Kara? Sara?"

"Hi Rose" Sara greeted cheerfully

"Hi" Kara added sounding bored.

"Kara? Sara?" Jake asked as he entered the living room from the kitchen as Rose let the oracles in.

"Hi Jake" Sara said cheerfully before her eyes flashed yellow "Rose. You're going to want to not use that broken arm"

"Fun" Rose said sarcastically wondering just HOW she was going to break her arm

"Anyways" Jake said before turning to his old friends. "What brings you two around these parts?"

"Sara saw a vision concerning Ben" Kara said before her eyes flashed yellow "This time it's going to be twins"

The Longs were silent at the news as Jake and Rose turned to Rose's midsection which was still flat.

"Anyways," Jake said figuring he'd talk to Rose about that twin thing later. "Sara. Your vision?"

"Oh yeah" Sara said looking extremely perky. "Chang's escaped from prison and is planning on sacrificing Ben to get the Dark Dragon back"

"WHAT?" Jake exclaimed as Rose gasped in horror

"We can't let her get to him" Rose said

"I'll call Haley" Jake said as he went to the phone.

Just when he was about to pick it up, it rang. Jake and Rose exchanged nervous glances before Jake pushed the speakerphone button.

"Hello?" he asked

"_Jake." _A familiar voice came. _"It's Silver. There's a bit of a…problem at the harbor."_

"I'm on my way." Jake said.

"Thanks for the warning" Rose told the oracles

"No problem." Kara said

"Need help?" Sara asked

"If you can tell Haley and Seth and then look after Julie, that'll be GREAT" Jake said as Rose ran to the closet, pushed a LOT of junk out of the way, and pulled out two hunts-staffs

"Rose." Jake tried to argue as the oracles left

"Jake. Don't try to stop me. My baby is in danger and I can be JUST as deadly as you can be" she said "We don't even know if those twins have been conceived yet"

"Fine" Jake said knowing better than to argue with an angry Huntsgirl when she had her hunts-staff. And if she was already pregnant, she was twice as deadly "But if you break your arm…"

"I'll live" she said

0000

At the harbor five minutes later,

"Let me go you ugly old hag!" Ben shouted as a REALLY old lady had a grip on him with her gloves as she tied him with chains. Mark, Ron, and a bunch of mermaids and other magical creatures who had come to help were bound in magical chains

"Didn't your father teach you manners?" Chang asked rhetorically before answering herself, "Probably not considering how he was at your age"

"What are you going to do with him?" Mark demanded

"Foolish human" Chang said

"It's simple really" the monkey on her shoulder answered "She's going to sacrifice the son of the American Dragon to bring back the Dark Dragon. Anything left, she's going to give to the Stregoi as a peace offerin'"

"I don't think so" Ben said. "DRAGON UP!"

Nothing happened

"DRAGON UP!" he tried again

Again, nothing happened

"You are your father's son" Chang laughed. "These chains are reinforced with Sphinx Hair."

"Aw man" Ben groaned as that had been one of the first things his father had taught him

"Now, to the ritual" Chang announced as she threw Ben to the ground

Chang then rose her staff above her head

"BEN!" Ron exclaimed looking scared stiff

Suddenly, the staff was shot out of her hand by three blasts of energy. Two were neon green and the other was gold.

The magical creatures relaxed and the teens' jaws dropped

"Oh boy we're in trouble" Bananas observed.

"Got that right" Jake said landing as Rose jumped off his back wielding the Hunts-staff.

Ben had no idea which parent looked deadlier. His mother or his father.

And it wasn't just them who came to his rescue. There was also his aunt and uncle, Fu Dog, his cousin, her dragon master who was the high school home economics teacher (Sun moved up), Trixie, Spud, Renee, Chad, and another guy Ben hadn't met yet yielding a stick.

"Looks like Long brought in the cavalry" Chang mused

"Got that right" Jake told her "Luckily, we're not too late"

"I beg to differ" Chang said before transforming and going for her staff

"Oh no you don't!" Rose shouted pointing her hunts-staff at the space between Chang and the magical staff.

However Chang got to it first and pointed the staff at Rose shooting the mother.

"ROSE!/MOM!" everyone shouted as Jake flew to catch his wife.

"Seth. Tend..." Jake started to instruct before realizing that he was speaking to air. He turned and saw that Seth was putting his Huntsclan training to some REALLY good use

"He always saw Rose as a sister" Chad explained. "How would you feel if Haley had been the one shot"

"Good point" Spud mused before rushing to go help the mermaids

"Everyone else, free the others!" Jake instructed. "Except you Trixie. Tend to Rose"

"Right" Trixie said taking Jake's spot as he flew over to Ben

"Watch out Dad. It's Sphinx Hair" Ben warned

"Thanks for the warning" Jake said extending his claws. "Hold perfectly still."

With one flawless swipe, the chains were released and Ben transformed before turning to Chang

"Normally I'd say Uncle Seth has this under control" Ben told his father with awe as he watch his uncle not hold back his potential

"Normally?" Jake asked wondering if his son was thinking the same thing he was

"But NOBODY hurts my mother" Ben informed his father

"I completely agree" Jake stated

The two flew over to the main fight. Ben blew some fire at Chang as Jake caught Seth's eye. Seth shot Jake an I-can-handle-this look, but realized what Jake was doing when the dragon touched his left ear. Seth nodded to show that he understood and waited for Ben and Jake to get Chang into position

"When will you learn Chang?" Jake asked "no matter what you do, the Dark Dragon won't come back"

"Says you American Dragon"

"You're the only one who wants him back" Ben pointed out drawing the attention away from Jake giving the father time to use his tail to knock the staff from Chang's hand and into Ben's. With one swift movement, Ben broke the staff

"You just made a FATAL mistake Long" Chang growled

"Actually, you did" Seth said causing her to turn a bit

She briefly saw Seth come down

"Not the left ear!" Bananas exclaimed as Chang fell down dead. "I'm outta here"

"I don't think so" a mermaid said grabbing the monkey by the tail

"Nice catch Dolsetto" Spud said

"Thank you Spud" the ex-principal said

"Good shot" Jake praised his brother-in-law

"She may not be by blood, but Rose is my sister." Seth said before they turned to said huntress.

Rose had regained consciousness earlier on and was holding her arm giving Jake a look that said 'you were right, but I don't care'

"You okay Ben?" Jake asked his son knowing that his wife was going to be okay.

"Yeah" Ben said as they transformed back into their human forms

The next thing Ben knew, Ron's arms were around him hugging him like no tomorrow.

"You okay?" she asked

"I'm good. You?" he asked

She just smiled at him and then gave him a kiss right on the lips

"It's about time" Mark muttered

"So Long?" Nigel said as he walked up to Jake. "Going to introduce me to your boy?"

"Once he's done making out with his new girlfriend" Jake said teasing his oblivious son

0000

Once Ron and Ben were pried apart, the 'rescue team' went back to the shop where the oracles were talking to Julie.

"Ben!" Julie exclaimed as she hugged her brother. "Are you okay? Sara said that you would have been sacrificed if Mom and Dad didn't come to the rescue. And what's this I hear about you getting a girlfriend from Kara?"

"Calm down Julie" Ben told his sister wondering how she knew and who Sara and Kara were

"Thanks for looking after her" Jake told the two women Ben assumed were Kara and Sara

"No problem. She's a cutie" Sara said

Kara's eyes then flashed yellow

"She'll make a good big sister" Kara announced

With that, everyone turned to Jake and Rose

"Apparently we'll be getting twins soon" Rose admitted still holding her broken arm. Her years of training had taught her to withstand the pain.

"YES!" Julie and Karen cheered as everyone congratulated the couple

"I so didn't need to hear that" Ben muttered

"What?" Mark teased "That your parents still.."

"Mark. Shut it" Ben warned

"Well," Trixie said in a professional manner. "Rose. We better get that arm in a cast"

"Right" Rose agreed

"Mom? What happened?" Julie asked

"This evil dragon broke Mom's arm" Ben explained "but Dad, Uncle Seth and I took care of her"

"Good" Julie said with her blue eyes flashing reminding Ben of his mother. "Nobody messes with our family"

"Ben. Julie" Jake said after getting a congratulations from the sorcerer. "I'd like you two to meet someone. This is Nigel. He's a wizard I met when I was about Ben's age"

"It's nice to finally meet you two" Nigel greeted the kids.

"Likewise" Ben said shaking the man's hand as Julie swooned at the British accent.

TBC

The conclusion next time:

"_You mean there was a dragon, a dragon slayer, and a mermaid at the school and Rotwood didn't know it?"_

"_There was also a wizard and for a while, two oracles" _

"_Man he was dumb" Ben muttered_


	11. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Six weeks later,

Ben had taken his father's place as the American Dragon so his father could join the Dragon Council (but can still live at home to help with the twins).

Rose's arm healed nicely after six weeks of being pampered by her husband and children. Of course, being pregnant again helped.

Since school was going to start the next week, Jake and Ben were at Rockaway Beach just walking along the sand.

Suddenly, something popped its head out from the waves and waved at them. Ben and Jake waved back.

"Hey Dad?" Ben asked

"Yes?" Jake asked

"Six weeks ago, one of the mermaids…you seemed to know her"

"I know two of them well" Jake explained. "Silver was the one who called me, but she wasn't there. I met her the night before your mother found out about my dragon heritage. The Huntsclan had captured some magical creatures for the Equinox hunt and Silver was one of them"

"How come she wasn't there?" Ben asked

"She…has aquaphobia"

Ben froze

"She's a mermaid who's scared of water?" Ben asked

"I also met a leprechaun with no luck, a brownie with an attitude problem, and a giant who's feet REEKED" Jake added with a smirk. "But as for your question, you're probably talking about Detective Dolsetto. She was undercover at the middle school when I was there looking for the Kelpie which had escaped"

"Really?"

"Yeah. She was the principal. When she went back, she was replaced by Rotwood"

"You mean there was a dragon, a dragon slayer, and a mermaid at the school and Rotwood didn't know it?"

"There was also a wizard and for a while, two oracles"

"Man he was dumb" Ben muttered

"It wasn't easy being taught by him" Jake confirmed. "But your Mom's taking care of that"

"What about when the twins are born?"

"I'll take back over" Jake said. "You, Julie, Karen, and your Aunt Haley can handle things in the magical world for a few months"

The two continued their walk enjoying the peace and quiet. As they walked, Jake placed a hand on Ben's shoulder and the two shared a smile

"Thanks Dad" Ben said

"For what?" Jake asked

"For being there when I need you. For coming to help when my guard is down. Now I know why you've been so paranoid."

"It's all part of being a Dad" Jake said

All was well

The End

A/N: FINALLY! This is as far as this story goes so don't even ask for a sequel. I'm still working on 'Running Away' but the storyline for that is still a bit rough.

Now, if you want to adopt this and do a sequel, just P.M. me and ask for permission (and an idea of the plot you have in mind).

Anyways, thanks for reading this and I hope you enjoy this and I hope you will also enjoy 'Running Away' (once I finish it)


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